


tender is the night for a broken heart

by thelandofnothing



Series: on the hillside i remember (i am loving losing life) [2]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, More Fluff, Post-Battle of Winterfell, fluff and guess what
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-08 16:53:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18627337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelandofnothing/pseuds/thelandofnothing
Summary: all is not lost, and their night was not the last.





	tender is the night for a broken heart

**Author's Note:**

> this probably won't happen but let's be honest, i am a hoe for some fluff.
> 
> title: space song - beach house

When they had won, he had immediately forgotten about the wound on his head or the grazes he sustained through his armour. He had looked for _her,_ Arya Stark of Winterfell who he had wanted to be kept safe in the crypts. And that was the stupid part; he should have never asked her to go there because he realised how the years had truly changed her all too soon. Even though he did not follow the Seven, he knew she was the living reincarnation of the Warrior, her skinny sword Needle was indistinguishable from her body and the quarterstaff he had made her was swirled with such grace and deadly precision that staring at her had nearly caused him his own death on many occasions during the battle. It made sense why she was so well trained, why she had those scars too. Whoever had given her them was probably dead if Arya had seemingly walked away. The fiery, grubby Arry that he had held back from murdering the Hound all those years ago was completely absent and in her place was a new Arya, controlled and withdrawn, her grey eyes always observing, always calculating her next move. He had hated looking at those scars, but he knew that this new Arya had kept her alive and that, he thought, that was all that mattered. So, when he finally did find her, he kept at a distance, watching as Jon Snow crushed her to his chest and as she cried, holding her sister close. Those remaining in the crypts had emerged, looking terrified at the sun that peaked through stormy clouds. Snow fell gently in the battered courtyard that was littered with dead men.

 

She never sought him out that night even though he made sure the forge was burning brighter than any star.

 

It was then when he decided that their last night had been for Arya’s experience alone and nothing to do with him. She had kissed him like that because she had not with anyone else. It would not have mattered if it was him or that Podrick lad who the men said he had a ‘magic cock’.

 

 _But she chose you idiot,_ a voice somewhere in his head.

 

Arya had thought they would all die and what a perfect excuse it was for her not to reciprocate any feelings.

 

He had little faith in himself these days.

 

She kept hidden in the shadows and he had not the heart to look for her, even when the thought of her kept him up at night. His cloak still smelt of her; an earthy but sweet aroma that was distinctly her. He remembered kissing her skin, devouring her scent with his nose. She smelt like home like no ill could ever harm him. Part of him could settle with what he was to Arya now; still her friend no doubt but maybe not her lover. She would hate that title; he could already see how disgusted her face would be at even the mention of that word.

 

And that is why he didn’t know why he did it; making that necklace out of some spare steel. It was a wolf that he had designed to the best of his ability and once he had finished it, he had searched high and low for a piece of leather cord, hanging it up on his workbench so every time he was making steel sing he could see it in the corner of his eye.

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

A few cold nights passed until she finally found him out.  

 

She had so walked silently into his forge that he could barely tell she was there, but he had always been aware of her presence so he kept working, pretending he could not see her standing beside his workbench, her fingers fidgeting with her cloak.

 

“Gendry,” he heard her whisper in an almost pleading tone.

 

He swallowed and looked up, finding it impossible to wipe off the menacing glare off his face.

 

“Does m’lady need me to make her another weapon?” he asked in a low voice that was neither welcoming nor pleasant.

Instantly, her face went cold, and he could see her hands curl into fists at her sides.

 

“Shut up.”

 

He snorted and went back to concentrating on his work, “Suit yourself.”

 

“Don’t be like that,” she said, moving closer and he could feel her becoming frustrated when he wouldn’t give her the attention she wanted, “We need to talk... Gendry we both survived the war…”

 

“You hadn’t planned on that, did you?” he commented, attempting to sound uninterested even though his heart was racing at a million leagues an hour.

 

She pulled up a stool and sat next to him.

 

“No, I didn’t. But I am so glad that I did… That _we_ did,” she told him, and he looked away from his work, “That night…”

 

Her voice had become quiet and so unlike her, as though she was terrified of something.

 

“Gendry, for the Gods’ sake, look at me!” she growled and he suddenly obeyed, staring intensely into her eyes that were flashing like two grey storms. _There she is,_ he thought, watching a battle brim in her irises, _That’s the Arya I know._

“What do you want?” she asked, her brows furrowing together making her face look like she was in pain. It was most likely that she was, in her mind, and he was slowly piecing it together. He was the first man she had laid with and there were feelings she was unsure of. His heart lightened at the thought, “I mean… Men always want something don’t they…”

 

“I want you to be happy,” he cut her off, speaking truths of all volumes and looking into her eyes, branding them into his memory, “I want you safe from all harm… But I want you wild, not scared, not hurt. Just happy and content, being who you are. I don’t want to see you pretending to be someone else.”

 

She reached forward tentatively and cupped his cheek; her fingers were experimental on his stubble and her eyes were glued to his lips.

 

“How do you know what makes me happy?” she whispered, raising an eyebrow.

 

“I don’t,” he replied honestly, sitting back and taking her in, “But I don’t care… As long as you are… Happy, I mean.”

 

She pulled back and looked at him, studying his every feature. He waited for her to make the next movement, giving her the reins to control their conversation so she was comfortable navigating this foreign territory. He himself had already made his mind up; he loved her, he wanted to go wherever she went. Truly, he would stay with her until he was due to meet the Gods and even then, they would have a hard time taking him away from her. And it did not matter if she didn’t feel the same way, he knew that the seed of love had always taken time to grow and he was willing to wait however long she needed.

 

“I’m scared of what you mean to me,” she finally confessed nervously pulling her bottom lip between her teeth, “I’m not the naïve girl my sister once was but… I miss you when you’re not by my side and… You make me feel sane like I’m myself and that I don’t need to keep running any longer. When we were together that night, I felt like staying there for a thousand years. That’s where I am happy; in your arms.”

 

Even in the poor lighting of his forge, he could see rogue creeping along her cheeks as she stammered for words. But she had executed them so well that he couldn’t stop himself when he pushed forward and pressed his lips to hers, tangling a hand in her hair. Not satisfied with the distance, Arya moved forward and climbed onto his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. When he pulled back to regain his breath, he leaned his forehead against hers and listened to her hastened to breathe as she rubbed their noses together fondly.

 

“I love you.” She announced so faintly that her words could have been stolen by the sound of their mingled breaths.

 

He pulled away further and stared at her but not long enough to scare her. Only to just to see the truth in her eyes when she had said those specific three words.

 

“Arya…” he sighed and recaptured her lips with his, tilting his head to soak his soul in the warmth of her love, “I love _you_.”

 

They broke apart and chuckled to one another, the sound vibrating against the skin where their foreheads met. He moved to kiss the crown of her head and then remembered something important…

 

Before she could begin to protest and without moving her from his lap, he reached forward to pluck the leather stand off the headboard of his workbench and lay the pendant on his palm to show Arya. She looked down curiously and traced the metal wolf with the tip of her finger admirably.

 

“Gendry…” she looked back up at him with something in her eyes that he had never seen before, “It’s beautiful.”

 

 _It’s admiration,_ he finally decided, _it’s love and appreciation and gratefulness._

Arya had always praised his work, no matter if it was just a simple blade. He had remembered how fascinated she had looked when she was studying the quarterstaff, he had designed for her. She slipped the necklace over her head and let it rest at her collar bones.

 

“Can you make a bull pendant to add to it?” she asked, her voice a little teasing but he was still taken aback. 

 

“As you wish.”

 

She held his face and kissed him again, settled firmly in his lap

 

“What now?” she asked him.

 

“Wherever the roads take us,” he answered, not truly knowing the answer but responding because he had the power to. They were partners now, and they had been partners back then. After Hot Pie had left them, they were forced into working as a team to survive, to keep warm at night, “There’s still Cersei left.”

 

Her eyes narrowed when he mentioned the false Queen’s name.

 

“Once she is finished…” she moved to kiss his temple, “We'll see the world… Together?”

 

He chuckled and slid a hand up and down her back.

 

“Anything for m’lady.”

 

And the smile she let out would be engrained in his memory for the rest of his life.


End file.
